Fodor's may use your email address to send you relevant information on site updates, account changes, and offers. For more information about your privacy and protection, please review our full Privacy Policy.

Transportation

Flying to Frankfurt, Germany later this summer. We need to take a train to Trier to start our tour. Does anyone have info as to where the train station is in relation to the airport? Also, does anyone have knowledge of what train we need to take to Tier? I believe it is a three hour trip that involves changing trains somewhere. Any info on this change? Thanks

Do you know there is a thing called google maps on the web?
If you look at the map of Frankfurt airport, https://www.google.com/maps/@50.0510806,8.569626,1965m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en you notice there are two train symbols. The closest on is labeled Regionalbf and are for regional trains. Little up the second train symbol on a tadpole shaped building shows Fernbf which are long distance trains. The Regionalbf is below the airport terminal (actually below the Shearton hotel). The Fernbf is connected to the terminal by overpass.

Which one you go to? It depends on how you start your trip from the Frankfurt airport.

Use www.bahn.com and enter Frankfurt (M) Flughafen, Trier HBF.
You see several options. In the listing you see either "Frankfurt(M) Flughafen Fernbf" as the starting point or "Frankfurt(M) Flughafen Regionalbf". If you start the trip by using a regional transit, S or RE trains, you use the Regionalbf as specified and if you start your trip by a long distance train, such as an IC train to Koblenz HBF, you use the Fernbf. These are all listed in the schedule.

Trier Station is right in the middle of town with a range of bus stops directly outside the station. Mainly surrounded by bars there is a great icecream shop on one corner facing you as you exit. Watch out for bikes as this is a hgh bike use city.

Oddly enough rail link susing only regional trains is faster by a few minutes than connections using ICE and then regional trains - and regional trains have a flat fare so you can just buy that ticket on arrival and use it on any regional train on that route.

www.ban.de/en is the German Railways web site for schedules and booking - but when flying I would always wait until arriving to get my tickets for the next possible connection - just head to the Frankfurt Airport train stations and buy your ducats and also the clerk will tell you exactly how to do it.